A Conversation with Billy Goodman (continued)

BG: It was a small northern California tour. I think it was only five shows, but they were all basically full. I was treated exceptionally well by the Kimock family. Got to play a lot, got to sing a lot, made good bread. That was a small dream come true for me, because I was playing with Hutch Hutchinson from Bonnie Raitt's band, who I'd heard a lot about.

PM: Yeah, great bass player.

BG: He was just an absolutely great guy--amazing player. The cat on the keyboards, Melvin Seals, had been playing with Jerry Garcia for years, I think he was the longest standing member in the Jerry Garcia band. He was from another planet on the B3. Such a sweet guy. Johnny on the drums, Steve Kimock on guitar--I mean, that was just an absolutely perfect situation for me.

PM: It's a really different kind of a line-up, right? Some of the other members are more, let's say, predictable. But to have a singer/songwriter in the middle of the Steve Kimock and Friends ensemble, that's kind of a new look for that group, right?

BG: Well, the Steve Kimock and Friends project is what Steve calls "between movies" for him. He was thinking more in terms of playing songs. Steve's a big lover of pop music, along with his improvisational background. I know he's a big Beatles fan and a big Crosby Stills Nash and Young fan. So we did our little version of that, and I think he liked it a lot. We played a lot of three-chord rock and roll. We played "Jigsaw Puzzle" by the Rolling Stones, "Slow Down" by the Beatles. We did the whole record that we had made in the barn, and then Steve also did his extended original songs, so everybody got a little of what they wanted, I think.

PM: I was glad that you and I got together on a few of the songs that ended up on these Red Barn sessions, but let's say something about your other co-writers on this record. Who else had songs on that record, or contributed to songs on that record?

BG: A good singer/songwriter up in Berlin, Christoph Deschner--he wrote the bridge for "Part of You." A poet friend of mine from Nashville who's in his mid-sixties, Lou Symoens, wrote some of the lyrics in "Part of You"--

PM: Really? A guy from Nashville?

BG: Well, from Lebanon.

PM: Oh, wow.

BG: Yeah. Lou helped me get back on my feet when I was having a little trouble, and I wanted to pull him in, in the songwriting scene, as kind of a like way to pay him back for the help he gave me. I continue to write lyrics with him. George Chavles down in Miami was a punk rock guitar player in the 80s. He helped me with the music on "Johnny Anonymous." Thomm Jutz, my old buddy from the Black Forest--who lives in Nashville now--co-wrote two songs with me on the record. Besides yourself, I think that's it for the co-writers on the record.

PM: Yeah, well, I was glad that you and I got to write some stuff on that. That was a lot of fun. What comes up next? Are you gonna do more stuff with Kimock? What's on the agenda?

BG: There's some talk about putting a band together again for some dates into autumn. I know Hutch said he had a little time. I'm hoping that that will happen. I look forward to doing some more show dates with Steve in America. We have a small tour booked in southern Germany and Switzerland the last half of May--

PM: Duo tour, right?

BG: Yeah--the Deadheads in the Germany and Swiss scenes helped us put that together. Basically I'm a one-trick pony. For me it's about just writing another fifteen songs, making another new record, and just trying to go out there and play them, pay the bills, rinse and repeat.

PM: Indeed. Well, let's try and write some new songs for this new project and this band type project coming up, and see if we can get that on stage and on record.

BG: Steve loves to play blues and rock and roll, and does it better than anyone I ever heard [laughs], so there's some talk about that.

PM: Well, thanks, Bill. That was fun. Like I said, I never thought I'd be interviewing my brother for PureMusic. But you know, on the occasion of this great record with Steve Kimock--and I'm sure his fans and your fans, too, will pick up on this record and enjoy the hell out of it. I certainly did.

BG: Thanks a lot, Frank. Thanks for the call. Just keep walkin' hard, all right? [laughs]

PM: [laughs] That's right. Okay, brother, catch you later.